Ok, I’ve just seen the shocking riots in Spain over Catalan independence.   I’m not sure if a new country of Catalan is a good idea, nor am I happy with the Spanish authorities beating people up at an election.

I saw the yellow and red stripey flags in Barcelona back in June 2017 when I was there, now I seem similar ones in France.   First of all, I saw this unusual bookshop whilst I was in Toulouse:-

So I’ve learned this week, that Occitan is an obscure old language spoken in southern France.

Now that this particular county/district has been revived, it would appear the next step is towards pushing another independent nation.

https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/eli/decret/2016/9/28/INTB1617888D/jo

This link from a French government site mentions a new province called Occitanie established in September 2016.

Notice the star-shaped emblem which reminds me a bit of the Maltese cross.   These oval stickers with one or two digit letters don’t point towards a country or province but towards a nation rather than a county.

So it would seem that Occitan nationalists would aim to make this bottom part of Spain including Toulouse theirs?

Well, I came here to see the little mountain country of Andorra and didn’t expect this close by.

Introduction – Newspaper danger – Occitane, little known district of France & wannabe new nation –